<p>mwbashful18, schools do educate kids differently. You should try to get a copy of Jean Anyon's study "Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work". I believe it was published in the Boston University Journal of Education.</p>
<p>Anyway, upper and upper middle class schools educate kids differently than working class schools. In upper-middle class schools there is more independent work, creative thought, analyzation, public speaking practice, less control of the class by a teacher as children have more say of what is going on in the class room. The teacher's are forward looking and relate what the kids are learning to future goals. These kids are being taught to be leaders.</p>
<p>Keep doing independent study. Keep developing your own thought processes. Find a college that develops skills I have mentioned above.</p>